The Child
by ScaletShadow
Summary: Sequel to The Baby. Five years have passed and Xun is no longer an infant, she is now a child with limitess energy to spare and share. Where will this toddler's new found need for excitment and mischief lead her and her parents? Read to find out followers.


The Child

Chapter 1: Five and still going strong

Quote(s)

Anonymous - "Children are great imitators; so give them something great to imitate"

- And -

Nikki Reed - "Part of being young is making mistakes"

HELLO READER AND FOLLOWERS OF THE BABY! It has been such a LONG time for this sequel to make it's way on to my list of collection of stories. YAY! After two years of not posting the next story that was a follow up to The Baby, I have no excuse. I've been busy as of late and honestly, lost interest in the story, but one day, it finally came back to me. I dont how, I don't know why, I'm just glad it did.

Alright, no more denying what came here for! Let's get on with the reading, shall we?

© Kung Fu Panda - DreamWorks (Freakin Copyright looming monsters man!)

From behind the Wu Dang Mountains that rested on the horizon of China, slowly crept the rays of the early morning sun into the near reaches of the hovering sky, splashing the color of orange on the threshold of dark blue that was the primary color setting of the moment, even taking the time to allow the two complementary colors to mix at the hemline and form that which is dawn. In the Valley of Peace, all the denizens were still tucked beneath their warm bedsheets. Men, Women, Child, and Elderly; all still in the realm of dreams and slumber, doing all that they could to enjoy to what little time they had before conciousness roused them to the light of morning. It was the same for the residents of the Jade Palace, for they too were still lingering in the realm of dreams. It was still a couple of hours before the annual ringing of the morning gong to signal their daily routine till sundown. This also extended to Master Shifu and Lady Yun Shui; who were snuggling together with her head resting on his chest while Shifu's arm was drapped over her bare arm, The Furious Five and Po; the Dragon Warrior. Most likely dreaming about dumplings and other foods. Yep, the entirety of the Jade Palace was in a state of calm and peace with nothing out of place for good couple of hours.

Except for one individual that was up at this ungodly hour of the morning.

In the room of the Student barracks, right next to Po and Tigress' room, came the ever lowly sound of a door that was creaking open, the kind of sound that was made when one was trying to sneak out and not get caught in the act.

"Okay, getting the doors open was the easy part. Getting past Mama and Baba on these squeaky floorboards is the hard part." stated a small voice while obeserving the footing before her, the shadow of the young pup was mimicing her exact posture, like it was waiting for movement of the original. "C'mon Xun, you can do this if you wanna be a hardcore warrior like Mama and Baba. All I need... is... one... tiny... step..." Xun started while raising one foot from her room and was about to land it on the wooden floor while her shadow was doing the same thing. Just as fast as she lifted her foot from her room and placing it gently on the wooden floor making a light squeak sound. "Like that. There, easy as making dumplings with Baba. Next, the other foot." Xun said while in motion with other, but with more confidence this time. Once she was out and at full height, she turned around to her room door with the needed speed so that the floor wouldn't squeak beneath her and closed the entry while making sure to keep the noise level down. Once Xun heard the gentle click with her keen ears, she knew that the doors were properly closed and wouldn't have to worry about later on.

"Alright. Now with that done, time to head over training hall." She said to herself while taking gentle steps towards the barrack entrance while slightly dreading the fact that she was about to pass her parents bedroom. During the way, she had her breath held just she was right in front of the door that lead to their room, she continued to move past, Xun could hear her Dad's mild snoring from the other side of the hallway. From the way she heard his breathing, Xun could guess that he was having a fairly good dream, probably about something he liked more than food, but his breathing wasn't the only thing she heard. Thanks to Shifu's daily training for increasing the fox cub's audiosensory skills, Xun could also hear her Mother's gentle breathing as well. Xun soon realized that while standing there, she was wasting time that could be used for training this very moment. Shaking her head of the distraction, she regained her focus and proceeded to the task on paw.

Getting to the Training Hall.

Just like before, with every step taken, a squeak sound was made. She finally made it past the boarder of her parents' room and was now just inches away from Monkey's door. She was nearly free and all it took was a few more steps before she was out of the barracks.

"So far, so good. Just a little more and I'll be outsid-"

"Xun! what do you think you're doin?"

The cub froze in her tracks and had to force herself not to jump or yelp out in surprise. Her fur poofed out a bit in surprise from the sudden call out of her name. She already knew from the tone of voice that it was her father. Adding by the way it sounded, he sounded mad. She was about to answer him, when a light snore followed up from his previous line.

"You... gotta... wait till the doughis... zzz... dry enough for the... dumpling... too... zzz" Po slurred in his subconcious state before fall back into the realm of slumber once more. Xun waited a few more seconds before letting out a breath of relief, placing a paw on her chest to further prove the fact that she was in the clear.

"Oh wow, that was close. For a second, I thought Baba was awake. I better get going, I'm wasting Training time the more I stand here. By the time Mama and Baba get up, They're gonna be surprised at the new skill I'm learning." the fox cub said herself in a gleeful manner while trying to contain it as well. With the whole ordeal of almost being found out settled, Xun began to shuffle about the way from her current position, all the while, she made little pitter-patter noise beneath feet as she began to walk, this time, not stopping for anything or letting the risk factor of getting caught go any higher then where it was.

It was a challenging task for a five year old child, trying to be sly in a house full of adults that had years of training before her and could easily catch her in the act of sneaking out before the crack of dawn. But nevertheless, she attempated it and accomplished it.

*Outside of the Training Hall*

Upon arrival to her destination, the fox cub let out a sigh of relief after walking up those stairs to get here, and the fact that she was only a child, just added to it. Now standing before the door that led inside, Xun took a moment to relax.

Before the long walk from the barracks to the Training Hall, the first thing to greet Xun the moment she stepped outside,as the gentle breeze of the early morning that lightly ran across her fur which made her shiver a tad. The second thing that greeted her this morning, were the faint rays of sunlight that barely shone over the mountains in the distance from beyond the Palace walls. She inhaled a good amount of fresh air that was all around her, held it in her lungs for a few short minutes before breathing out the properties, as if to actually smell to morning that was on its way to the land. After she had made it, she could see that it was still a good while before the sun would be visible to actually start the day.

"Okay, I made it and with a lot of time to spare. I better get started." Xun stated while keeping her crimson eyes on the door that lead into the Training Hall. From where she was standing, the door handles were barely out of her reach for she was fairly on the short side for a child. Once she caught her breath and was breathing normally, Xun had to stand on the very tip of her toes to use her full height while reaching up to the handles. Clasping on to them, she used the strength that she had gained in the last four years of training to push the large, towering doors that overstood her open without herself falling in the process, or at least to the point where it was wide enough for her form to slip through easily. Once on the inside, It was fairly dark but still seeable to a very good degree. She could make out the things that she had seen before day after day; like the Jade Tortoise of Wisdom in the center of the room, in the back was the layout of The Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors; all of them stationary, above was The Seven Talon Rings; which were all motionless, further back was The Field of Fiery Death and nearby was The Seven Swinging Clubs of Instant Oblivion; a favorite of her Mother's. Xun knew that the training devices before her was FAR to advance for her current level and ways away from her in years before she was even ready to attempt a try, but that didn't stop her dreaming about it that one day she could be just like her mother; A Master, a master of and in her own Rite and style. She even had secret thoughts of succeeding her father and becoming the next Dragon Warrior, but she knew that was highly unlikely and would never come to pass. But a girl can dream.

The fox cub made her way down the steps before her and took an immediate left, only to see The Adversary in the back just sitting there with it's same goofy smile and poor attempt to look menacing. Walking up to the dummy, Xun now had a serious look on her face, building up her focus for the task at hand.

Solely defeating her foe and nothing else.

Now a good few feet away from the Adversary, the cub went into her most notable stand that she thought of on her own. She pivoted her body away from the dummy while her neck was twisted away, making her head remained stationary. Next were her arms. Xun placed out her left arm to its full length and bent her paw foward and down a bit with her fingers pressed tightly together, like she had seen her Uncle Mantis do while the right folded and was a few inches from her chest with her other paw was bent back with her fingers in the Tiger Claw position like she had seen her mother use many times. Next were her legs, placing them at ten and two gave her enough space in case she needed to spin around. And last was her tail, with the way it was moving and swaying about, it was acting like a snake's. She felt confident that she could pull off and complete her new move this time with her new style that she came up with. The style she made up revolved mostly around speed and evasion, while the secondary aspect of her form was founded on cunning tactics and hitting the opponent from blindspots with that speed with a bit of power behind it as well. Seeing as how using and bringing out external power from within like her mother wouldn't suit her or any other styles that her father, aunt and uncles used, she decided to going with what her species are known for, trickery and acceleration or; 'The Way of The Fox' as her grandfather stated it.

After her formation was done and mental preperation complete, Xun let out a quick breath and prepared to attack.

"Alright training dummy," Xun started while point a finger at her opponent before going back ito her stance. "You may have beat me before more times then I could count with that silly look on your face... but, this time I'm not gonna lose! With my new move you're gonna beg me to stop. Get ready to feel the Thundah!" And with that final line, she lept and began her assult. Xun didn't know why, but whenever she copied the same lines from her dad, she help but feel energized and ready to take on anything that came her way, and it made her feel Awesome.

*A couple of hours later*

The sun was at it's proper destination in the sky and everyone in the Valley was properly starting their day. From businesses to regular people, the village was alive with activity from it's citizens as they began to get things up and going, even though it was a slow start up. Nevertheless, it was in motion. At the Jade Palace, the same thing was going on as well. The Palace Staffmen where already in position at the massive gong that was hovering about the ground by a good few inches. with six of them at the ready with three on each side of the large colom of wood. The lead supervisor was a bit away from the rest while keeping his eyes on the horizon, waiting. The others knew what he was doing, and was preparing to give them the signal to ring. He raised his wing and they all took that as it was time to ring. They pulled back and held form till he gave the command. After a few seconds of waiting, he saw the rays begin to shine over the mountains and that was what he needed. With a quick flick at his command, the six responded by driving the object to the gong at the center, emitting a loud sound that echoed throughout the Valley for all to hear.

*Inside the Student Barracks*

The moment the gong was rung and it's soundwaves began to travel andit made its first passby at the Student Barrack...

The Furious Five and Dragon Warrior, acting on thier trained instincts, immidately threw themselves from their beds and darted out of the rooms, not even bothering to close the doors behind. Once outside, they were formally in position with arms (Those with arms) folded behind them and back erect with posture. From Tigress's view, she was face to face with Po from a small distance, surprisingly, the Panda managed to make it back to his room before the Gong was rung, but not without a quick morning Pick-Me-Up from the feline who was more than willing to oblige if he was willing to return the favor, which he did in fact. It was tough for the both of them to not crack a smile at one another, considering that they were feeling the diminishing yet lingering afterglow. Surprisingly, they managed to save face.

"Good morning Master Shifu, Good morning Mistress Yun Shui." They properly greeted, like they've done before. At the end of the entrance of the Student Barracks, stood their master and their mistress that were connected to one another by the arms. Shifu had a serious look on his face that was surprisingly not, while Yun Shui had that same, motherly smile on her face whenever she greeted her husband's students in the daily mornings when they were up and ready for the day or whenever she crossed paths with them at any point of the day. Yes, they were quite the pair, which played the role of surrogate parents in the Jade Palace to the Furious Five and Dragon Warrior and grandparents to a certain fox pup. If you look at the scenario that way.

"Good morning students. Why Dragon Warrior, this is quite a sight to behold. I never thought you would be able to awaken on time for the Gong. What brought about the sudden change?" Shifu asked in a faked surprise voice, cracking a teasing grin Po's way.

"Eh, what can I say?" Po asked while making a 'what can you do?' body expression with his arms. "I just needed the right motivation and a few scratches on my chest to get my hips in gear so I could start the the day." Po replied in a passive tone of voice that matched his deadpan expression. That comment completely went over Monkey's, Crane's, Mantis's and Viper's heads but it didn't go past Tigress, she had to advert her eyes to keep her smile from cracking.

"Oh really Panda? And exactly how did you manage that?" Shifu asked.

"Tigress," Po started, causing Tigress to go wide-eyed from shock while attracting the attention and looks of suspiscion from the others while Shifu smirked internally.

'Panda, you just made yourself a bigger target' Shifu thought deviously.

"Oh, and what does Tigress have to do with this?" the red panda asked.

"Simple, she came into my room early this morning and acted as my personal gong," Po continued, still keeping on his serious face. That response drew a slight and low gasp from Yun Shui and some chuckles from the others. Tigress was now subtly blushing while trying to keep her embarassent in check. She made a mental note to kick Po's ass extra hard in training today.

"Is that a fact? And exactly why would she do that Dragon Warrior?"

'You both couldn't resist the carnal temptation of earthly lust for one another could you? Go on, give me a reason to hand you a severe punishment.'

"Basically, she woke me up and threatened to kick my behind extra hard today and from this day on if I overslept again. She made it extra clear with her claws showing." Po replied while placing a paw on his chest and gently rubbed there to further prove his point. The other stopped their giggles, and simply looked at him, Tigress stared at him with her mouth hanging open a bit with shock, while Shifu's motion trail of thought came to a screeching halt, putting him at a loss for words temporarily. Po had to resist the urge to smirk at his soon-to-be victory.

"Ah, I see. Did anything else happen after that?" Shifu replied, still hopeful that Po would let slip the happings between him and daughter.

"Actually yes. Something did happen." Po added.

"Like what exactly?"

"After that little pep talk, she gave me a good morning kiss and went back to her room after that," the Panda answered. Still in shock, Shifu was about to ask what he did after what just transpired. But Po beat him to it. "And for the last hour, I was meditating up until a few minutes ago." Po added.

"And that's it?" Shifu asked.

"That's it." Po replied.

'Clever save Panda, you narrowly dodged an arrow.' The red panda thought bitterly while internally griping at his loss. "I see. Well, no matter. Students, your training schedule is the same as it was yesterday. Po, it is Kung Fu introductory classes today and it's your turn to over see the lessons of the children from the Valley; our granddaughter included as well, but it is a half day for you all. Around noon, you are done for the day. So hurry on over to the kitchen and have breakfast, Yun Shui and I will be there shortly. Training begins in an hour. Po and Tigress?" Shifu called out.

"Yes, Master?" They replied in unison.

"Be sure to awaken Xun. You know how much she adores her morning dumplings." Shifu chuckled as he and his wife followed. The moment Shifu and Yun Shui was out of the barracks, everyone else let out a breath of relief from the tension, especially Tigress. She didn't think that she could take anymore embarrasing spotlight moments today, seeing as how Po took it up to a 95% and brought it back down just as fast as he rose it. She took a couple steps towards until she was in his personal space while a scowl was present. Po could see that she wasn't to thirlled at what happened not to long ago. Po let out a nervous chuckle and sheepish grin while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sorry about that Tigress. I didn't mean to take it that far. I just wanted Shifu to quit bein' nosey and what-not." Po responded while keeping eye contact.

"You should be. The last thing I want Shifu to directly know about is our intimate life Po. He gets the hints and gestures, but he doesn't need the details." Tigress stated calmly while her arms were folded. Surprisingly, there was no trace of emotion in her voice, which scared Po a little.

"Still Po, I'm surprised that you managed to keep a straight face the entire time Shifu was asking those questions." Monkey added.

"It was NOT easy, lemme tell you. I had to pinch my arms multiple times really hard, just to stop myself from smiling. I think I'm gonna be feeling it for the rest of the day." Po replied while rubbing the spots that were pinched repeatedly.

"But it was an amazing feat nonetheless Po." Viper complimented.

"Thanks."

"Well with that taken care of, aren't you guys gonna get Xun up? Po's gotta make her dumplings dish." Mantis asked while hopping onto Monkey's shoulder.

"Yeah, she may be young, but we can't let sleep any longer. Otherwise she won't be able to take her nap at noon, and we all know how much energy she has to spare." Crane added.

"I know what you mean, but yeah. So Tigress, are we... ya know, cool after what happened a little awhile ago?" Po asked, rubbing his arm in a sheepish manner as he was brought under Tigress' gaze that was neither angry or annoyed, which still scared him. Tigress continued looking into his green eyes with her raised while keeping a calm composure the entire time, not saying anything or giving him the notice that she was angry with him. "Tigress? Dumpling?" Po asked again while picking a pet name, carefully treading the area that was Tigress' emotions. To his surprise, the feline simply smiled and caught him off guard while she, in a very feminine manner, stood on the very tip of her toes to raise her height and pressed her nose to his and gave small rubbing motions before placing peck on his lips, all the while her arms were folded behind her back. The moment Tigress pulled back and stood normally, she still had that smile while Po was trying to register if the sudden public display of affection was a form of apology or a well executed method that told him that she wanted to play, and soon.

"You're lucky that you're my mate Panda. Had we weren't... well, you get the idea." Tigress replied while turning away from him, preparing to go wake up the fox cub.

Po could only smile to himself as he managed to avoid getting on Tigress' bad side so early in the morning or annoying her in the slightest, which made him feel nice. 'Alright, start of the day and I successfully didn't piss off Tigress from the getgo, and to add, I even got a unique form of apology from her as well. Suddenly thought up mission comple-' Po stifiled a gasp from escaping while his motion of thought was halted when he felt a familiar sensation quickly, but very surely, graze up thigh and lightly tapped the groin before pulling away. He noticed that Tigress was casting him a knowning glance his way from the side while facing away from the others as if to let him, and him alone, know of the special connection that they shared and what she wanted from him. 'Scratch that, looks like the apology was just a front for what she really wants. I'll have to fix that later.' Po thought while casting her the same side grin to match hers. As Tigress approached the doors that granted access to Xun room, she gently knocked on the wooden frame, so the pup wouldn't awake with a startle or fright when penalized for missing the morning gong. Both she and Po decided that Xun was not ready for that kind awakening.

"Xun, Fengmi, it's time to wake up." Tigress called while press herself a little closer to the door, let voice travel through to the slumbering fox cub. As Tigress guessed, the was no answer, not even a mumbling response. The feline chuckled lowly at what actually happened, from Xun not answering her calls to the events she play out in her head that matched what was happening now. As much as she wanted see what else would happen, she and the had work to do today. "Xun? Come on now, you have to wake up now. You have training to do, remember?" Tigress asked once more.

But still no response, which put Tigress in a slightly paniced spot.

"Xun?" Tigress called, trying to stay calm.

"She must really be tired. Maybe you should go in and give her gentle nudges to wake her up." Viper offered as she slithered over to them.

"Good idea. Normally, she'd wake up and respond from either me or Po calling her. I wonder why that would change?" Tigress pondered as she took hold of the door frames and proceeded to open them with minimal effort. Her heart was beating with mild thumps of anticipation, not from unfounded fears but from the fact that something was amiss this moment, from the fact that Xun wouldn't answer to point where she was feeling uneasy about all this. From the moment she opened the door to her daughter's room, whatever minimal anxiety she was feeling before, just amplified to full on fear from greeted her on the other side of doors.

An empty room, with no fox cub in it.

"Xun!?"

Alarm gongs just went off in Tigress' mind when she saw that her daughter wasn't there. Leaping through the doors in the room and frantically began searching for the white fox cub in whatever possible hiding space was possible for her size. With the room being so small, the search ended quickly, but the fear remained. In the same amount of seconds Tigress came back out in a hurry and darted over to Po, eyes wide with fear and trepidation while latching on to him.

"Tigress, what's the matter?! Is Xun-"

"That's just it Po! Xun, she isn't in her room, she's missing!" Tigress exclaimed while looking into his eyes.

"MISSING?!" The others mimiced, the sudden annoucment shocking them as well.

"What?! Tigress are you sure?" Po asked in a serious tone of voice staring at her in the eyes.

"Yes! I was just in there and Xun is gone Po! By the way I'm reacting, that makes it very clear!" Tigress responded.

"Okay, Tigress, don't panic. We won't find her if we're not thinking straight. The best we should is to split up and find." Po stated in a calm, leader-like manner.

"But how, we don't even know if she's still on the Palace grounds, for we could possibly know, she might even be down in the Valley this very moment!" Monkey pointed out.

"That's a very real possiblity, but we don't have time to dawdle! We need to split up and look for her. Tigress, what are your orders?" Po asked while turning back to the feline, but she didn't responded. Instead, she was looking down in misery. "TIGRESS!" Po called out to her, quickly gaining her attention. He knew that she was devastated that Xun was missing and he felt the same way, but what mattered was finding their daughter. "What are your orders?" He asked in a gentle tone.

Huh? Oh right,right! My orders! Viper," Tigress called out, feeling that commanding authority start to rise up and take control. The serpent rose up and made eye contact with the feline. "I need to go on ahead let the Master Shifu, Mistress Yun Shui and the Palace staffmen that Xun is missing and we need their help finding her." Tigress commanded.

"I'm on it!" Viper replied darting away from the others.

"Crane, I want you to take to the skies and give us a bird's eye view while scaning over both the Jade Palace and Valley of Peace."

"You got it." The bird replied.

"Mantis, you check the small cracks, corners, and other small spaces on the Palace premises. It seems unlikely, but I want to find her."

"I'm on the job." Mantis confirmed.

"Monkey and Po, we'll search the Palaces grounds for Xun. Understand?" Tigress asked.

"Lound and clear." Monkey replied.

"Good. You have your orders, now go!" The moment Tigress gave the word, they all sprang into action and proceeded with their tasks, all save one. Po stayed behind with Tigress as they watched Monkey, Mantis and Crane leave the barracks with the same speed. Once they saw Crane ascend to the sky and Monkey descend the stairs of the earth, both Panda and Tiger turned to face one another with serious facial expressions. Until Po gave his mate a smile and placed a quick kiss on her cheek.

"Don't worry Tigress, we'll find Xun. I promise." The monochromatic bear stated while taking her paw into his and held it as he was leading them to entrance. Tigress simply sighed in agreement, but the reassurance didn't do much to help.

"I know we will Po, but I'm still scared that we might not, I mean, we're still here in the barracks talking and our daughter is somewhere on the Palace grounds and we don't know where. She could even be out in the Valley somewhere or worse!" Tigress responded while getting her paw lose with a small jerk and twist. Po let go, but they still continued to walk together with Tigress pulling ahead of him a bit. Po understood her fears, Xun was their very first daughter and although only five years old, that fact that she wasn't with their protective reach was nerve wrecking for the hardcore feline, heck he was scared as well when the thought of his daughter being in situation where he or Tigress couldn't get to and protect Xun, but knew that being delirious and highstrung would make matters worse.

"I can't exactly say "don't worry" Tigress, but panicing won't help, only the opposite. But we will find her. So let's get to work. Shall we stick together and find her?" Po asked.

"As much as I want to Po, no. I gave the order to split and spread to find her. It'll be faster that way. You check the Palace grounds, I'm going to look down in the Valley." Tigress replied.

"Actually Tigress, you take care of the Palace grounds with the others, I'll run down into the Valley and assist Crane from the ground and ask my Dad if he saw her. I grew up in the Valley, so I know that place like the back of my paw. And I'm not taking no for answer." Po responded while taking the lead, not giving Tigress a chance to object. Reaching the entrance, Po turned back to Tigress and once again, placed a quick kiss on her again, only this time it was on her lips. That gesture never failed to make her smile, even in this kind of situation. "We'll find her Tigress, I just know it. I'll see you later sweetheart." And with those words, Po took off down the stairs and head for his destination, leaving Tigress there to carry out her search. She didn't bother thinking about other things, all that mattered was finding her daughter. Like the others, she as well began her search once she descended the stairs.

Tigress' searching took her to various spots of the Palace grounds, spots where she ran into the others that were also searching for the cub. But every result was the same as were the responses when asked if they found her. Nothing, but that didn't stop her from looking. So she decided to look elsewhere. From transistion to transistion of the area, she could hear a few of the searchers call out her daughter's name. By the tone, they were concerned for the well being of the child. Tigress decided a new approach on the situation. Check the spots that Xun favored most.

- The Nursery: no Xun.

- The kitchen: no Xun...

- The Sacred Hall of Warriors: no sign of the fox pup...!

- The bath house: no Xun there either!

From location to location there was no sign of her daughter in any of the places that she looked. But that didn't stop her, it would never stop her. She would rather have her body broken then give up the search for her. Even though her results in the search were fruitless, she still continued to look. aHer searching eventually lead her to the training ground. From the look of things, this area had been untouched in the search for the girl. A bit irate at the fact that this place was completely ignored, this also showed as a good chance that she would find the girl, starting with the bush that was nearby. After a good while of searching, the results were the same. No sign of Xun, Tigress' calm demeanor was fading fast while her fear was adding on to what it originally was. She was now standing in front of the Training Hall with her back towards the entrance. Standing in place with her arms folded in front of her chest, she began to critically think on any other possible places that Xun could possibly be rght now. She even contemplated on who would be fool enough to sneak onto the Jade Palace grounds and who that said fool would be the victim that would fall to her claws for going after her daughter, but those thoughts were interrupted when a high-pitched battle grunt rang into her from a distant. Tigress' ears twitched when she heard it again. She knew that noise anywhere, mainly from training and practices during the Kung Fu introductary classes. Following her instincts, Tigress continued followed the sound and it gradually got louder untill she was now standing in front of the door, when she noticed that the door was slightly ajar and judging by how far apart it was opened it as the size,

"...That a five year old could squeeze through." Tigress said lowly. Just as she did another sound came from the inside and this, it was made clear from who was in there.

"Why won't it work? What am I doing wrong?" The voice was clearly agitated from the desperation of something. That was all that Tigress needed to finally put her fears to rest. Xun was in the Training Hall, most very likely using The Adversary. She was granted more reassurance when the moments of telling the pup the dangers of the course when Tigress introduced her at the age of three were set in instantly, when she ran near The Field of Fiery Death and Tigress had to save from a geyser the was about to spew fire in the front row. She made it to her in time, but as soon as Tigress pulled her away the flame spewed and roughly grazed her arm and singed her fur off. The pain was real and it took weeks for the fur to grow back, but she was glad that Xun got the message right then and there, even though it was a bit of a stretch with the fox pup crying from seeing her mother injured, which was understandable. Tigress subconciously rubbed the spot where she was burned in her memory.

"An effective lesson, but one I wish she hadn't seen so soon." the feline said lowly as she gently pressed the door further from where it was. Now that she knew where Xun was, her discipline side was starting to emerge in place of the fear she previously felt. She knew that Xun meant well in wanting to train and getting stronger, but the fact that she didn't tell where was going and causing everyone, including her parents, to worry like this had to be addressed and taken care of. Steeling herself and the reslove, she entered the area to retrive her daughter. Once inside and making her way down the steps before her, she rounded the corner and saw that Xun was where she thought to be, only with her back to her. Tigress could see that she hunched over with both paws on her knees, and could hear her panting in near exhastution. Both ears were nearly flat against her head, Tigress could even see small beads of sweat falling from the same place for she knew, that kind of condition took a couple of hours to happen when training nonstop, which surprised her a lot.

'She was in the Training Hall this long to be this worked up and nearly drained? Gods, she's about to collaspe from exhaustion!' Tigress said to herself as she approached the pup who struggling to stand back up. 'I'm putting an end to this right no-'

"Not yet... I can't stop yet..." The sudden sentence caused Tigress to stop in her tracks as stand there as she saw her daughter raise both paws above her and nearly clasp them together, making a small opening to see through. She saw them begin to tremble a bit before a very faint glow was surrounding her paws, like she was channeling something to the very spot that she was looking at. "I can't stop... not until Mama is proud of my new move I came up with." Xun stated while grunting a little and the low and dull lighting began to glow a little brighter this time and faint blue hue was starting to show.

'She's doing this for my sake? Just what is she trying to accomplish that's so important to her just to please me?' Tigress thought as she continued to observe her daughter's activity. By he end of that thought, the glowing blue aura that was glowing grew brighter and brighter until a sphere of energy was now occupying the space in between her paws and continued to grow until it matched the fitting of her paws. Tigress' eyes went wide with realization from what she was seeing and knew what Xun was doing and frankly, the feline master was both shocked and horrified at the technique she was trying to accomplish. 'The Chi Sphere of Potent Energy?! Impossible! That move far to advance for a child to know about, but to understand it's build up trying to put it to use was inconceivable! And she's this tired?! I have to stop her!' Tigress began to walk at a quick pace closing the gap between them. Stopping Xun from using something so dangerous was her full priority.

"And its ready. Get ready training dummy, cause this time I'm gonna win!" Xun got into position and prepared to launch the ball. Shifting her paws to where overlayed the other in a overhead throw. "Get ready to feel the Thunda-"

"Xun Meili Ping! Just what do you think you're doing?!" Tigress shouted out, surprising the pup, making her yelp out in fear which caused the energy that she was stored up to rupture and disperse nto nothingness. Xun cringed forward and her tail went limp from the familiar voice that stopped her from attacking. The pup slowly turned around to face her mother, who had a very stern look on her face, with both paws on her hips while towering over the pup with a frown.

"Oh mama, good morning... I didn't see you there..." Xun started while turning around, but was quickly shutdown by a small growl that left the tiger's pursed lips, making her ears splay backwards.

"Well, I'm not surprised that you couldn't seeing as how you were doing something so dangerous! Just what were you thinking? Doing something so dangerous, and sneaking out so early in the morning to add. Your father is worried, your grandparents are worried, everyone in the Jade Palace is worried about, I was about you! And because of your little stunt, there is an entire search party out looking for you! Just what do you have to say for yourself, Young Lady?" Tigress demanded, her anger lowering from its high point. Xun couldn't do anything from there. With her mother standing over her with a scowl, Xun's ears splayed back in a humble manner she placed her arms behind her and looked down, seeing her feet shuffle with one another. She could also feel her eyes starting to water but didn't drip out the sides yet.

"I'm sorry Mama, I really am. I didn't mean to cause trouble, I just wanted to show you a new move and impress you and Baba with it. I wanted it to be a surprise, and show you want I can do and grow up to be just like you." Xun said, trying not to break down. She was trying to be tough like her Mother and not give in to the tears. It absolutely broke Tigress' heart to see her daughter in such state before her, cowering in place while not even bothering to look up at her. She wanted to give a hug and tell her it was okay, but she needed to do this, and make sure such behavior was not repeated again.

"Xun, I know you mean well for wanting to train and get stronger," Tigress started calmly "But you also need to understand that what you did, two things you did have very serious consciences and penalties that follow. Sneaking out so early in the morning and not even thinking to tell us, we all thought that someone had came into our quarters and stole you away durning the night," Xun winced at that last line and hung her head down even more. "And using such a move. Xun, that technique is far to advance for you learn and much to dangerous to use. Had you unleashed that kind of unstable power your level of actual understanding of the move, it would have drawn out all of your Chi that could make an explosion big enough to seriously hut you, brung down the entire Training Hall with you in it or worse." Tigress pointed out while getting on her knees, matching her level of height while her paws were resting on her thighs. "That move you now know, you're just old enough to properly use it. Do you understand me?" Tigress asked gently.

Xun simply nodded, understanding what her mother was telling her. "Yes Mama, I hear you," She replied in a meek voice. Tigress simply sighed in relief that Xun was listening to her. She was about to say something else, but Xun beat her to it. "I did things that were wrong and I made you angry Mama." She sniffed finally and a teardrop fell, followed by another and another, and another, and another until tears were now pouring. "Do you.. hate me now?" She asked while looking up at the tiger that was taken aback by the sudden response from her daughter, staring with wide eyes that were locked with Xun's misty, watery red eyes.

"Hate you? Xun, why would you say or think that?" Tigress asked in a shocked manner, any remnents of anger and worry instantly vainshed and her mother compassion rose to the surface just as fast.

The fox pup balled up both of her paws and placed them to her eyes and began to sob while trying to rub away the tears that just kept coming while not making eye contact with her mother. "Well, I did two things that were wrong, I made everyone scared, I almost broke the Training Hall and worst of all, I got you mad. Don't you hate me for what I did?" she asked in between sobs. With the kit's demeanor of sadness and the thought of her own mother despising, she began to sob a little louder. This broke Tigress and she could no longer bare to see her child in despair. Reaching out with both arms, Tigress gently brought Xun into her bosom, and gave the sobbing girl a very motherly hug. As exepected, Xun hugged back and was now crying where her head laid. Tigress began to lightly rub her back and gently shush her sobs while nuzzling her head affectionately.

"Xun, my lovely Bai dingxiang, I could never hate you or anything you do. The reason why I was angry, was that I was afraid that something bad might've happened to you." Tigress gently while pulling head back, just in time to see the pup look up at her, eyes still watery.

"Really Mama?" she asked.

"Really truely. I love you too much hate you. You are my special sugar dumpling and you always will be."

"So you don't hate me?"

"I never have and I never will. You can do no wrong in my eyes Fengmi, and I will always love, no matter what." Tigress said with motherly smile while using one paw finger to gently brush away the trails of water on her face, stopping the fox's crying while bringing a smile back to her face as well.

"I love you Mama."

"And I love you my dear. So very much." Tigress said while letting go, but still remaining on Xun's level. "By the way Xun, just how did you learn The Chi Sphere of Potent Energy anyway?" Tigress asked in a non ciritcal tone of voice. Xun was able to detect that her mother wasn't mad at her now, but wanted to know.

"That move? I saw Baba practicing it before. It looked awesome, and I wanted to try it too. But I wanted it to be a surprise for you guys. Why Mama, do you know about it?" Xun asked. Tigress simply chuckled and gave her answer, by petting her daughter's head, making her tail wag a bit.

"I think it would be easier if I showed you," Tigress replied while placing her paws to gether in a praying like postion while Xun stepped back a bit to give her mother a bit of space. "Xun, earlier when you asked why you're not getting it or didn't understand, I know why you were having such a hard time with this and why your energy was so unstable." Tigress advised while keeping her paws together.

"You do, what did I do wrong?" The pup asked.

"You were so focused on trying to hit your target, that you forgot to maintain your control on your energy while pouring large amounts into it, never using portions to help control it's size or stability." Tigress mentored with large words, but from the look of confusion on the little girl's face, chuckled a tad and proceeded to break it down. "I'm sorry Fengmi. I didn't mean to confuse you. I explain it in a way so you can understand. Portions is just a big word that describes smaller parts, like, pebbles that are broken from a large stone. Do you understand?" Tigress asked. As a response, Xun nodded simply and Tigress went on to the next word. "Good, next word is Stability. Like before, its just big word that talks about control or balance. Took make that word easier, watch how I do it," Xun paided close attention as her mother began to take light and calm breaths and repeated the same thing ntil she felt a familiar warmth start circulate and gather to where paws were pressed together and they began to glow a faint red color. Xun was amazed as she saw her mother doing the same move she had done not too long ago, but the way her mother was doing the exact same thing at a faster pace made her eyes go wide with amazment.

"Now Xun, here is what happens when you mastered the basics of Control and Stability," Tigress opened her paws and cupped one over the other, within that space that was granted, a medium sized ball of Scarlet colored Chi took form in her paws while hoveinf and casted a hue of light red through out the entire Training Hall. The pup was just awe-stricken by what she was seeing. Her mother just perfectly pulled of what she had been struggling to do all this time, what added to the amazement was the color of the energy and how perfectly cleared it looked. "This is the results of your efforts once you master the basics." Tigress stated while clasping her paws together, returning her Chi that she brought out, back into her body, causing it and the light in the room disappear.

"Mama, wow! That was Awesome, how did you do it? Did it take a long time to get?" Xun asked with such excitment in her voice.

"It took some time, yes. But I masteredthe basics when I was child just like you." Tigress answered.

"Wow, it must have took you a long time. But Mama, how come your Chi was red and not blue like mines or green like Baba's? Is red your favorite color?" Xun asked in wonder. Tigress simply chuckled as she was hit with another set of questions.

"Well Xun, the of one's Chi varies or depends, on the person's personality, or what makes them that person. Say your Aunt Viper for example. She's a kind and caring person with a calm look on her face. So possibly her Chi is blue, just like yours,but only lighter. The color depends on the person Xun, remember that," Tigress told the pup, who simply nodded. "And, is red is my favorite color? Yes it is." Tigress added.

"Why?" Xun asked. Tigress contemplated on telling her why indeed, but decided against it. She had to let the others know that Xun had been found.

"That my dear daughter, is tale for another day. We need to let the others know that you're alright." Tigress said while standing up to her original height.

"Awwww, okay." Xun agreed in response, not bothering to whine about it.

"There's my good girl. Now come along," Tigress started while holding her paw open for the kit to take hold of. "Let's go get you some breakfast after we tell the others that you're okay and then, you can have your favorite dumplings." She added. As soon as the pup took hold and Tigress placed her gentle grip on the cub, Xun's ears perked perfectly upwards when she heard her favorite word.

"Yay! Dumplings! Dumplings! C'mon Mama, let's go! Let's go!" Xun yipped while pulling ahead while still holding her paw with Tigress'. The feline Master laughed softly and played along with her daughter, as they left the Training Hall the way had been except for the black imprints of explosions that was on the walls nearby.

Bette Davis - Discipline is a symbol of caring to a child. Discipline is guidance. If there is love, there is no such thing as being too tough with a child.

A/N: And thare you have it. A mother's love knows no bounds for her child, the best kind of love in my opinion. Well, that's all for now readers. I hope you enjoyed it after finally getting it out, and there won't be another for awhile, but I'm still going make more until it finishes. So yeah, in the mean time, check my recent fic: Housepets! Battle of Souls, you can find it in the comic section of Fanfiction. Till next time fellow one. I bid you good day. R&R :)


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